Chaos at the Château
by Setoglomper
Summary: While on vacation, Yugi and his friends are caught up in mysterious accidents that seem to target an old foe. Will they be able to figure out who's behind these attacks before they're the next victims?
1. The Chateau Belle

Hello everyone. I'm taking a stab at a mystery this go-around, and all comments/praise/flames are appreciated! I am aware that the beginning is very Capsule Monsterish, but the rest of the story isn't. Just so you know, I've never written a mystery before, so this is uncharted territory. If you have suggestions, I'll accept them with open arms (and I've got brownies to give out to you guys for reading so continue!)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Surprise!! Kazuki Takahashi does. Mr. Kaju and Jacques Cordoneu are my own creations, along with other characters that have yet to make an appearance. I'll announce them as they appear.

**/Blah/ **is host to spirit.

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

Chapter 1

_Man, I've got a good feelin' about today. Something great is just waitin' for me around the corner_, Joey thought to himself as he walked to school. He turned the street corner and stopped in his tracks. A small booth was set up. The lady in the booth smiled and beckoned him over.

"Come on! Try your luck! Spin the wheel for a chance to win the grand prize!"

"Oh yea!" Joey put his books on the booth table and rolled up his right sleeve, "Round these parts, they call me Lucky-Left-Arm!"

The lady in the booth blinked, "That's your _right _arm."

"I know that!" Joey round up the spinner and then let go, watching the wheel intently.

* * *

Yugi was already in class, trying to show Tristan a new game his grandfather had picked up for the shop.

"Your piece can't move on diagonals, Tristan; only forwards and backwards, left and right."

"I knew that."

"Oh, hi Tea," said Yugi, as his friend entered the class.

"Hi Yugi – looks like a new game!"

"Yup! For his first time, Tristan's doing pretty good!"

"Yea, if I roll a three or better I'll be able to win!" Tristan took the dice in his hand and dropped it onto the table. It tumbled and stopped on a two." He moved his token two spaces and picked up a game card. "'Switch places with another player'!"

"My turn," said Yugi. He rolled the dice, "I win! Yay!" He threw his arms in the air in a victory pose.

"I was so close!" Tristan cried, "Victory snatched away right under my nose!"

"That's what happens when you play Yugi," said Ryou, joining them, "You can only get so far before Yugi claims the win away."

"How are you feeling, Ryou? You haven't been in school the last couple of days," said Tea.

Ryou smiled, "Oh, don't worry about me, I was just a bit…under the weather…."

Yugi noticed that Ryou glanced down to where the Millennium Ring was hidden under his school jacket. _I wonder if Bakura had to do with it somehow…_

/You never know, Yugi…/

Class was beginning to fill up, and their teacher had already entered the room. Upon a quick glance (and greeting Duke as he joined them), Tea saw that one of their own was missing.

"Has anyone seen Joey?"

"Not me," said Duke, "I just came from the shop. Knowing him, he slept in late or thought today was Saturday. Though, I must say, I _am _surprised that Kaiba's not in class either. Isn't he usually here early?"

Yugi glanced toward the back of the room, where the CEO would normally be working on his laptop or reading, ignoring the people around him. "Usually, but I'm sure he's busy doing something for Kaiba Corp."

Their teacher was about to close the door to signal the start of class when Joey burst into the room. "Sorry I'm late, Teach!"

The teacher, Mr. Kaju, sighed, "Just take your seat Mr. Wheeler and try to be more on time tomorrow."

Joey took his seat, a wide grin on his face. He turned to Tristan who sat next to him, "Man you'll never guess what happened to me this morning!"

"Quiet back there," said Mr. Kaju, going through the attendance roster, "If you have something exciting to say, Wheeler, say it after class or at lunch."

Joey pouted but fell silent. He sat through class, with enough excitement bottled up like a shaken soda can. When class was finally over and they had break, Joey ran up to the others. "You guys are never gonna guess what happened!!"

"You beat Kaiba in a duel?" asked Tristan.

"Man I wish, but no."

"Serenity is coming to visit?" asked Duke. Tristan glared at him. _What makes him think Serenity likes_ him_? She obviously digs me!_

"Eh, that'd be nice…but it's not that either."

"Does it have anything to do with why you were almost late today, Joey?" said Yugi.

"You bet it does, pal! It so happens that while I was on my way to school, I won a skiing trip in the Alps! It's an expenses-paid trip to a resort thingy somewhere in France for a week. Awesome, huh?"

"Great, Joey," said Yugi, "When is the trip?"

"Next week, and the good news? I've got four other tickets too, so you guys can come too!"

Duke frowned, "But there's five of us, not counting you. One of us won't be able to go."

"Oh," said Joey, pouting, "Man, that kinda sucks! I didn't really think about that."

Duke shrugged, "Don't worry about it, Joey! I've got a lot of work to do back at my shop. It doesn't run itself you know!"

Tristan grinned, "You're starting to sound a little like Kaiba. Going to grow a big ego too?"

Duke laughed, "Not likely, but I think I'll pass on the trip. Besides, snow isn't really my thing. Now, if you were going to Hawaii or something, I'd be the first to head out with you!"

"What about you, Bakura?" asked Joey, "You comin'?"

"I'd love to, but is it worth missing a week of school?"

Joey waved a plane ticket in his face, "It's free!"

/We're going, and that's final! Got that?/

Ryou sighed, **/Yes, Yami.../**

"Well, okay!"

Joey blinked, "Wow! You're easier to convince than I thought!"

* * *

"A skiing trip in the Alps, huh?" said Grandpa Muto, "You don't even know how to ski!"

"Well neither does Joey," said Yugi, "But I'd love to learn – did I mention the trip is free?"

"Yes," chuckled Grandpa, "But for a week…who's going to help with the shop?"

"Well, Duke is staying, maybe he could help you out."

"No no, I don't want to burden him. I'll be fine," Grandpa reassured him, "You go have fun on your trip. Just make sure to pack plenty of sweaters!"

"Hello Gramps!" said Ryou, entering the Game Shop, "Hi Yugi!"

"What's up, Ryou?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to Tristan's house. He and Joey are having a video game showdown, and the loser has to pay the winner's room service at the hotel. Apparently that's the only thing not covered."

"Sounds like fun," said Yugi.

"Go on," said Grandpa, "Have your fun, but remember to be home before it gets too late!"

They left the Game Shop and headed down the street.

"What game are they playing anyway?"

"Some sort of Duel Monsters game Industrial Illusions brought out," said Ryou, "Or at least I think. There might be Dungeon Dice Monsters too…oh, it's something along those lines." They reached Tristan's house and Tea opened the door for them.

"Hi guys," she greeted, "The two knuckleheads are playing the new Capsules game. Personally, I think it's going to be one big déjà vu from the ordeal in the Pyramid."

Yugi laughed, "Really?"

They looked into the next room, where Joey threw down his controller in frustration.

"HA! I beat you!"

"You may have won the _first_ round, Tristan, but the game is young! No one can beat the Godfather of Games!"

" 'Nobody' Joey?" Yugi grinned entering the room.

"Well…nobody but you, Yug'."

"You're behind, Joey!"

Joey quickly picked up the controller, "Man, Tristan! Why didn't you tell me you started the next round!?"

* * *

It turned out, after six hours of intense video gaming, the scores ended up in a tie. Joey and Tristan were now passed out on the floor from burned out thumbs and three boxes of pizza (each). The others had gone home quite some time ago. The rest of the week went smoothly, but Joey and Tristan were still ticked off that they couldn't beat the other in a video game.

Before they knew it, it was the night before the trip. Yugi was running around his room trying to collect everything he needed.

/Calm down, Yugi. You're bound to forget something./

**/No, no! I won't forget anything!/**

Yugi jumped onto the top of his suitcase, clicking it shut. "There," he said, "everything's packed and ready to go!"

Yami phased out of the Puzzle, "Well, if you're sure. You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

"I know! I can't wait to see Europe – I've never been there before. This is all pretty exciting!"

"As long as we don't get dragged out of the sky mysteriously and go into pyramids far from Egypt, I agree," said Yami, "I could do without another Capsule Monsters repeat."

Grandpa knocked and entered the room, "I'm sure your eager to head off, Yugi, but you can't go without your clean socks!"

Yugi's eyes widened as he looked down at his packed suitcase. "I-I forgot…_my socks_!?"

Grandpa chuckled, "Remember to check everything twice so you _really _don't forget anything. Just remember to have fun and be careful!"

"It's just a skiing trip, Grandpa. It's not like monsters are going to come to life and attack using the Seal of Oricalchos **(1)**."

"Well, it seems whenever you do something special, there's always the world to save. Pegasus, Marik, Dartz, it begins to add up you know!"

"Don't worry about me, Grandpa. I'll be fine. Besides, Tristan, Bakura, Tea and Joey will be there too. Whatever it is, we can handle it!"

Grandpa smiled, "Well, okay! Good night Yugi. Remember to get to the airport on time!" With another chuckle, Grandpa headed off to bed.

Yugi, after stuffing his socks into his already-packed suitcase, jumped into bed, excited for the next day's events.

He woke the next morning, barely able to contain his excitement. Yami had to take control so Yugi could stomach some breakfast, and soon after collecting his bags, he waved his grandfather good-bye at the airport and waited for Joey to arrive.

* * *

"Look at those mountains over there!" Tea pointed out the window toward the ground below, "It's such a beautiful view!"

"Yea, and before you know it, we'll be skiing near 'em too!" Joey smiled, "I can't wait to fly down those slopes!"

"Joey, do you even know _how_ to ski?" asked Tristan.

"No, but it can't be hard, right?"

"I can't wait to see how long it takes for him to crash," Tristan whispered. Tea rolled her eyes.

When they reached the airport, Joey pulled out a letter he had received back home. "It says we go to the East Entrance and meet with the guide. Whoever this guy is will take us to the lodge. Sounds easy enough, right?"

"Yes, but where is the East Entrance?" asked Ryou, "None of us have ever been in this place before and it's quite large!"

"Um, guys?" asked Yugi, noticing someone out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm sure there's a directory or something around here somewhere…" Joey mused, wandering off.

"Guys?"

"It would help if half these signs weren't in French!" Tristan said, trying to keep up with Joey.

Yugi sighed, "GUYS!!"

Joey stopped, "What is it, Yug'? We're trying to find the exit!"

Yugi pointed a ways back, "I already found it!"

"Well, geez, Yug'! Why didn't you say so?"

Their guide smiled at them, "Welcome! Are you ready to enjoy your week of skiing and relaxation?"

"You bet!" said Joey, "Where is this place exactly?"

"The ski lodge is called the Chateau Belle, for its architecture and scenic location in the hills. If you all have your luggage, we'll head off!" He led them to a medium sized car. "You may have to squeeze in the back a little so we can fit everyone. European cars are small."

"How far away is the Chateau?" asked Tea.

"Not too far," said the guide, "But just so you know, there is a large business conference going on at the resort. The organizer of the event has asked that the regular guests stay out of certain areas of the building until they are over."

"How big is this conference thingy?" asked Ryou.

"That I don't know," said the guide, "But there's plenty of room to explore the chateau without getting in their way, so don't worry."

The guide drove them up to the doors to the chateau. The gang could only gape at the size and beauty of the property. The snow-covered grounds seem to extend on and on into the distance. The ski lifts could be seen behind the building.

"Man, this is going to be so exciting!"

The guide led the group up to the front desk, "Once you check in, the fun begins! The day before the trip ends, I'll send you a letter telling you where to go the following day. You're welcome to stay longer, but it won't be paid for – you'll have to foot the bill from that point."

After showing them the check-in desk, the guide left.

Joey nervously approached the front desk, where a middle-aged man was recording something in a log.

The man looked up and smiled, "Bonjour, monsieur!" (Hello, sir!)

"Ehh, hi."

"How can I help you?" asked the man. His English had a slight accent.

"We're the prizewinners and –"

"Ah! Say no more!" said the man, "I am Jacques Cordoneu, the owner of the Chateau. Welcome! The Chateau is full of history, feel free to explore it during your stay! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me. Now, if you follow me, I will show you your rooms." He grabbed some keys off of a hook and headed down the hallway.

"He speaks English!" Joey whispered to the others excitedly as they followed Jacques up a beautiful, almost spiral staircase.

Jacques stopped them at a set of glass doors. He indicated to a manned table set up on the other side. "There are conferences of some sort going on through those doors. Only guests with an ID tag are allowed inside. Any doors marked with a blue schedule on them are for the meetings. Please stay out of those areas until the assemblies are done for the days. Now, if you would follow me, I will show you to your rooms."

* * *

"Those rooms are huge," said Ryou, "I feel like I'm worth millions to be staying in suites like those!"

"I know," said Joey, "Now I know what's it like to live like Rich Boy."

"Check it out," said Tristan, as they found a lounge next to a set of doors leading toward the conferences. "Look at all the squashy furniture!"

Joey took a seat in an oversized armchair near the roaring fireplace, "Ahh," he grinned, "I could sit here all day!"

"Can it be?"

The gang turned, recognizing the voice.

"My good friend, Yugi-boy! What a coincidence to see you here!"

Everyone's jaws dropped.

"Pegasus?" Yugi exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

Pegasus indicated the ID tag pinned to his red suit, "I'm here for business, Yugi-boy! Those conference meetings are very important in bringing Duel Monsters to Europe!"

"Duel Monsters hasn't been released in Europe yet?" asked Joey, "Weird."

"Well, it's been around," said Pegasus, "But it's not very popular. I'm meeting with all sorts of businesses to increase the popularity of Duel Monsters here so it can one day meet the figures in America and Japan! However, I take it you're here for the skiing."

"Yep! I won us an all-expenses paid trip! We're gonna live like kings!" Joey grinned from ear to ear.

"Well, I must be going. There's just so much to do. I daresay we'll meet up again, Yugi." Pegasus headed off toward the stairs leading to the bedrooms. When he was out of earshot, Tristan turned to the others, "Well, we've been through a lot, but I don't think any of us imagined Pegasus to be with us on vacation!"

"You can say that again," said Ryou, "So what should we do now? Explore the chateau? I'm sure there are some interesting things to learn about this place!"

"I dunno…" said Joey, "I don't want to move. These chairs are just too darn comfy!"

"Oh, come on, Joey!" said Yugi, "It'll be fun! Besides, you might just find out where the food is…."

"Okay let's go," Joey said, already halfway out the door.

"Wait for us!" They followed Joey when a blood-curdling scream was heard coming from the other side of the hallway.

Ryou gasped, "What was that!?"

* * *

**(1) **Is there even a proper spelling for Oricalchos?

Well, there's the first chapter! What do you think? Enjoy your chocolately sprinkled brownies!


	2. Dissapearing Act

Hi again! Thanks to the few people who reviewed the first chapter! Here's chapter two!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Surprise!!!! Kazuki Takahashi does. However, Mr. Kaju is my own creation along with Jacques Cordoneu, Sophie Cordoneu, Hartlin, and other characters that have yet to make an appearance. I'll announce them as they show up.

**/Blah/ **is host to spirit.

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

* * *

Chapter 2

"Man, that didn't sound good," said Joey, "I mean, I think I might go deaf!"

"Oh, Joey!" Tea cried, "Someone might need our help!"

"Tea's right!" said Yugi, hurrying past Joey, "the scream came from this direction!" They bolted down the hall, but stopped short at a door separating the business meetings from the rest of the hotel. A crowd was gathering on the other side, along with several strangely-familiar security.

"Hey Yug'. Haven't we seen some of those guys before?"

"It's possible Joey. They probably work for Pegasus." Yugi said, slipping through the doors.

"We're not allowed in there, Yugi!" said Ryou, "I guess he didn't hear me. Should we go in or wait out here?" He looked back towards Joey and the others, to find they already passed through the doors. "Wait for me!"

They found Yugi next to a much shaken woman who was sitting in a chair next to the conference room.

"What happened?" he asked.

"It was horrible!" she cried, "I was sitting next to Hartlin during his partner's presentation. Suddenly the lights went out! We thought someone hit the switch by accident, but then there was a wicked laugh and I felt something fly past me in the air. When the lights came on, Hartlin had been stabbed!"

"Stabbed!?" Yugi cried, "Was anyone else hurt?"

"No," she sniffed, "But we don't know who did it either! It was completely dark in the room, it could have been anyone! Oh, poor Hartlin! He was going to give a very convincing proposal from Industrial Illusions. Oh, I hope he's alright!"

"Where is this guy?" asked Tristan.

"Someone called security and they called for medical assistance, but they're not here yet. We were in 'Conference Room 3', over there," she pointed to the third door on the left.

Yugi thanked her and hurried off toward the mentioned room.

"Where are you goin', Yug'?"

"Maybe the culprit is still around!" he called back. He found a shaken Monsieur Cordoneu right outside the third conference room, patting his forehead with a handkerchief, talking with a security guard.

"This is terrible!" they heard him say, "Any more accidents and no one will come! I'll go out of business!"

"Monsieur Cordoneu, there have been more accidents?" asked Tea.

The owner looked over at them, "No, no! I don't want to ruin your vacation! Please – leave this to the police!"

"But how many accidents have there been?" asked Ryou, "You said 'any more accidents'."

"No, no, no!" said Jacques, "I will not intrude on your relaxation! This isn't your business to know!" He wandered off, muttering under his breath.

"Well, that went well," Tristan muttered, "So much for information!"

The guard to whom Jacques had been talking turned towards them. "There have been two other 'accidents' so far. Two days ago, a woman was pushed down one of the slopes. Luckily, she wasn't hurt. Then, yesterday, one of Mr. Pegasus's employees had a bad reaction to something he ate."

"Couldn't that just be an allergic reaction?" asked Ryou.

The guard shook his head, "No. He was able to eat that dish earlier in the day – but when he returned from the restroom, it was different. We took him to the nearest medical facility, and learned he was poisoned. Once again, he luckily survived."

"And now someone was stabbed," said Yugi, "Somehow, I doubt this is a coincidence."

"All of the victims thus far have been employed at some point by Industrial Illusions," said the guard, "But that's the only connection we found…if you excuse me." The guard answered his ringing cell phone and walked off.

"Well, there's nothing else we can do here, Yug'," said Joey, "Let's go back and look for the food again – man, all this excitement made me hungry!"

"But Joey, you're always hungry," said Ryou, opening the door to the conference area. They headed down the direction they were originally traveling. "I just can't see how you can eat so much and always want more."

Joey either ignored Ryou's last statement or didn't hear him. "I say the dining room is over here!" he exclaimed, heading around a corner.

"How do you know?" asked Tea.

"I'm following my nose, and it's never let me down before!"

"Yea, remember the pile of fruit he ate back in the pyramid?" Tristan snickered. **(2)**

"My nose is picking up sweet goodness coming from this-a-way!" Joey cut down another hallway, and took off running.

"Well, this won't be the first time Joey ran off without thinking," said Tristan, "Five bucks his nose will run him into someone."

"There's no need to place a bet," said Tea, "It's bound to happen. She sighed and rounded the next corner. "If he continues at this rate, we'll never find him."

"I'm sure we'll catch up to Joey," said Yugi, "After all, he'll be at the food lines."

They did find Joey, and to Tristan's dismay, he didn't run anyone over to do so. However, to Tristan's (and Joey's) delight, the dining hall was a large buffet.

"Sweet," Joey grinned, "All you can eat! This is gonna be fun! Hey Tristan! Beat you to the lines!"

"You're on!"

Tea sighed, "I need some female friends."

Plowing through the other guests, Joey and Tristan nearly plowed a boy over at the coffee machine. The boy glanced up, "Joey!?"

"Mokuba!?"

The younger Kaiba grinned, filling up a shiny black mug, "I'm going to guess that if Tristan's with you, than so is Yugi and Tea. What are you guys doing here?"

"I won us a trip here. We've got a homework-free week!"

"Awesome," said Mokuba, "Seto and I are here for those exceedingly boring business meetings. I don't know how he stays awake, but soon, I'm gonna learn how to ski! It's gonna be awesome!"

"Oh, hey Mokuba!" said Yugi, picking up a plate, "I didn't know you were here."

"Yea, but I wish I was out in the snow with the other guests' kids. These meetings are so dull, I can't see why Seto can't go to 'em alone."

Tea quickly scanned the busy room, "Where _is _Kaiba, anyway?"

"He's out in the lounge working," said the younger Kaiba. He looked down at the mug in his hands, "Oh! I've got to get this to him. See you around guys!"

Yugi watched him dart through the crowd, "He's such a good kid."

"Yea, now let's eat!" Joey grabbed three plates and began shoveling mounds of food onto them.

"Joey, you do know what a buffet is, right?" said Ryou, "You can go up as many times as you want."

Joey looked down at his mountains of food, "Oh, really?"

* * *

Pegasus sat in his suite, his head in his hands. _I've been here for three days, and there's been three accidents concerning my team! First, while - who's at the door?_

He answered the knock to reveal Yugi and his friends (Joey had a handful of brownies in his hands and was trying to keep Tristan from reaching them).

"Yugi-boy, what are you doing here? Don't you have a skiing paradise to enjoy?"

"Well, yea, but we were curious on what's going to happen since someone was stabbed earlier today."

Pegasus sighed and invited them to sit down, "Oh, you heard about that, huh? Well, I'm not surprised. It's been the third accident that has to do with someone from Industrial Illusions."

"But I thought there were only three accidents…" said Ryou.

Pegasus nodded, "Exactly. Someone seems to have a personal vendetta against me or my company, and it's my employees who are becoming victims. Soon, I'll be the only one from my group left!"

"Well, we would like to help, Pegasus," said Yugi, "If you need to attend these meetings, we'll figure out who's behind the attacks."

Pegasus looked up at another knock at the door. "First you, Kaiba-boy might be next. Come in, the door's open!"

It wasn't Kaiba, but Jacques.

"Pardon, Monsieur Pegasus, I did not realize you had company."

"No, no, it's alright Monsieur Cordoneu, Yugi and his friends were just telling me how they wish to investigate these 'accidents'."

"Ah, oui! But, you are on vacation, no?"

"We want to help," said Ryou, "We promise not to get in the way of everyday activities – or anger the other guests."

"Jacques!" He turned to see a woman run towards him.

"Sofie!" He glanced back to the others, "My wife."

"Jacques, several guests have checked out early and left. I fear that these attacks continue, no one will visit the chateau!"

"We'll go out of business," Jacques moaned, "After years in the family business…no! I won't allow it! If you can bring to justice the persons responsible, I will reimburse your troubles."

"Really?"

"Of course," said Jacques, "Should it take you…say, three days to catch this attacker, the chateau will tack three days onto your stay – free of charge."

"Room service too?" Joey thought aloud greedily. Tea glared at him.

"Eh...sure! Just please, catch him – or her!"

"We'll do our best," said Yugi.

"Merci. Now, Monsieur Pegasus, there was something I wanted to tell you. Alas, I seem to have forgotten."

"Don't fret over it," said Pegasus, "It happens to everyone."

"Oh, Jacques, I remember," said Sophie, "Monsieur, the hospital called. Monsieur Hartlin is alright and could return in the morning."

Pegasus smiled, "Oh, that's simply fabulous! Thank you for telling me!"

"Well, Pegasus," said Yugi, as Jacques and Sofie left, "If we're going to get to the bottom of this, we'll need some information. You said all of the victims were your employees?"

"Yes, that's right. I had planned these meetings and events so there was still some leisure time here and there. One afternoon, one of my assistants was pushed down one of the slopes. She was fine, thank goodness she was an expert skier. And then, one of my presenters _supposedly_ had a bad reaction to the cheesecake, but he had the same stuff only the day before. He won't admit it, but we all believe he was poisoned."

"And now this Hartlin guy was stabbed," said Tea, "And no one saw the attacker?"

Pegasus shook his head, "According to his partners, the lights went out, and in the darkness someone stabbed him in the arm and fled before the lights came back on."

"Sounds almost hard to believe that he got away so quickly before the lights got turned on," said Ryou, "Maybe we should check out that room."

"Go ahead, the room won't be occupied until tomorrow morning," said Pegasus, "In the mean time, I need to talk to Kaiba-boy about something. Have any of you seen him?"

"No, but Mokuba said he was in one of the lounges."

"I see. Thank you, Yugi-boy."

* * *

"Here we are, Conference Room 3," said Tristan. He paused before entering, glancing back at the others, "You think anyone's in there?" He failed to realize the door was see-through.

"I don't hear anyone," said Joey, opening the door. Walking inside, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, it's you."

"Yes, it's me," said Seto. Dressed in a black business suit, he sat on the other end of the long conference table, laptop and coffee spread out in front of him. He didn't bother looking up when he heard Joey's voice. "You know you need an ID tag to be in this area. Shouldn't you be attempting to ski right now?"

"Eh, Pegasus said we could check this place out," said Joey, "We're gonna help Pegasus find out who's knocking off his people."

"Be my guest," said Seto, rising from his chair and grabbing his empty coffee mug, "Just stay off my computer."

"Oh, by the way, Pegasus is looking for you, Kaiba!" Yugi called after him. _I wonder if he heard me._

After Seto had left, Joey ran over to his computer, "I wonder what games he's got on this thing – no fair, he locked it!"

"Come on, Joey," Tea rolled her eyes, "We're looking for clues, remember?"

"We don't even know where to start looking," said Joey, sitting down in Seto's chair, "I mean, how are we supposed to look for clues when we don't know what clues to look for?"

"We can start by looking for suspicious things left behind by the perpetrators," said Ryou.

"You can also start by getting out of my seat, Wheeler," said Seto, returning with a steaming mug now in his hands.

Minutes later, the room is silent except for the tapping of fingers against the keyboard. Finally, Tristan sank down to the floor, "Well, I'm out of ideas, what about you guys?"

Seto shook his head, but didn't take his eyes of the screen, "You might want to try looking where the guy was stabbed instead of the corners of the room."

Yugi blinked, "That makes sense…"

"Were you in the room when he was hurt, Kaiba?"

Seto still didn't take his eyes off of his computer, "Eighth seat from my right."

While Joey and Tristan combed the area around the chair, which wasn't a very large area, Yugi took a seat next to the CEO.

"I'm rather busy, Yugi."

"What exactly happened in there, Kaiba? If we're going to figure this out, we'll need your help."

Seto sighed. Between Joey and Tristan's dreadful sleuthing skills and Yugi's pleading look, there was no way he would be able to get any work done. He finally looked away from his computer. "Hartlin's partner was giving his incredibly boring speech," he said, leaning back in his seat, "I don't think anyone was remotely interested in what he had to say. He was about halfway through his visual when the lights went off. We thought that one of the guards at the door accidently leaned against the switch, but the whole room's power was gone because the projecter was out too. Sometime in the darkness, someone stabbed Hartlin."

"And the culprit got away?" asked Ryou, sitting opposite Yugi.

"The doors didn't open or close when the lights were out, so I can only assume that unless he does the same hocus-pocus junk that you all believe in, he was attending the meeting from the start."

"That means that anyone in the room could have done it," said Ryou, "Do you have a list or something of the people that attended the meeting?"

"Let me guess," said Seto, leaning forward again to check a new email, "You're going to interrogate everyone in the room like a bunch of hotshot detectives?"

Joey and Tristan grinned, "Why not?" Joey asked.

"I doubt anyone really knows exactly what happened, and the culprit isn't just going to confess in front of a bunch of nosey teenagers."

"Okay then, Mr. I-know-everything," said Tristan, "What do you propose?"

Seto glanced down at his watch, his precious working time slipping away, "Will it get you to leave any quicker?"

"Sure," said Yugi quickly, cutting Joey off from whatever he was going to say, "Absolutely."

Seto sighed and got up. He looked toward Hartlin's chair and then back at the group, "Wheeler, you seem to be around Hartlin's height and build, sit in his seat."

"Eh, okay."

"Lean your elbow up on the table and –"

"What's that gonna do?"

"Just do it, Joey. You should be happy he's helping at all," said Tea. While Joey grumbled and followed Seto's positioning orders, two figures stood watching from outside the door.

"Now what?" asked Joey.

"Hartlin was stabbed about here," said Seto, pointing at Joey's right upper arm, "whoever threw the weapon had to have stood about there."

Tea walked over to where Seto indicated, "How do you know it was thrown?"

"Remember the lady in hysterics?" asked Ryou, "She said she felt something whoosh past her. If the person walked right up to him and attacked, she wouldn't feel the air current."

"So the person was around here," Yugi mused, "And if he – or she – didn't leave the room, then one of the businessmen and women _has_ to be the assailant. The question is, how do we figure it out?"

"Beats me," said Ryou, leaning against the wall, "Maybe there's a secret door in here somewhere."

"That's a possibility," said Tea, as Seto returned to his laptop.

"If there is a secret door, there's only one person I know who will definitely be able to find it!" said Yugi.

"Yea?" said Joey, "Who?"

"Bakura!"

Ryou widened his eyes, "Me?"

"Well, no not you," said Yugi, grinning, "but Yami Bakura can!"

"You're gonna trust _him_ to help us?" Tristan cried, "Come on, Yugi, have you lost your marbles? He tried to trap us in the Shadow Realm. I'm sure you haven't forgotten what he did to us in Duelist Kingdom!" **(1)**

"But as a thief, he would probably be able to spot things like this better than anyone!"

/You can tell the Goody-Good-Pharaoh that I won't aid him in his ridiculous crusade./

Ryou sighed, "He won't help."

Yugi frowned, "Why not? _Though I was kind of expecting it…_

Ryou was silent for a moment and then, "He says he refuses to aid 'the Goody-Good-Pharaoh' without getting something in return."

Seto rolled his eyes from his seat on the other side of the room, but didn't break his concentration on the various windows on his screen.

"Well, what does he want?" asked Yugi. _I'm sure whatever it is will have something to do with my Millennium Puzzle._

/Good assumption, Yugi. But after all, the Millennium Puzzle can only truly won in a duel, so I don't think we have too much to worry about./

**/I suppose you're right, Yami./**

"He says he wants to duel for the Millennium Puzzle," Ryou frowned, "Though I think everyone could have seen that coming."

"Fine, I'll duel him for control of the Puzzle – but after we solve this case," said Yugi. _I knew it..._

Ryou was silent again for a few minutes. Finally, the Ring around Ryou's neck activated, and his evil Yami was in his place.

"We're looking to see if there's any secret entrances in here," said Yugi.

"I know that," snapped Yami Bakura, taking in the conference room, "Though I suppose asking an experienced thief like me to find your missing door is more convenient than taking the time to search for it yourselves. Lazy mortals..."

"It's not that," said Yugi, "I thought it would be easier, that's all."

Yami Bakura scowled, but paid very close attention to the area by Hartlin's seat. After a few minutes, he triggered something on the wall's shelf. The wall panel shifted backwards and then slid aside to reveal a dimly lit passageway. "There," said the thief, "I'm leaving – but any treasure you find is mine." He then retreated back into the Millennium Ring, relinquishing control to Ryou once more.

"Well, let's go," said Yugi, "We promised the Cordoneus and Pegasus we would solve this mystery!" With Yugi in the lead, the others followed, leaving Seto alone in the room once more. The secret entrance closed behind Tristan, who walked through last.

Skimming through several spreadsheets, the CEO reached over to grab his coffee, when something caught his eye. Glancing up from his monitor, he was able to see through the door, where two figures he couldn't make out seemed to notice him staring and suddenly fled. Seto narrowed his eyes at the spot for a few more moments, but then returned to an employee report, making a mental note to himself to start a little investigation of his own.

* * *

**(1)** For those who've seen Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series, you'll enjoy this hilarious "outtake" that I had _no _intention whatsoever of even considering placing it into the chapter:

"You're gonna trust _him_ to help us?" Tristan cried, "Come on, Yugi, have you lost your marbles? He tried to trap us in the Shadow Realm. I'm sure you haven't forgotten what he did to us in Duelist Kingdom!"

_Outtake: Yugi: You mean when he turned us into cosplayers?_

_Joey: Dat bastard!_

**(2) **If you haven't watched the Capsule Monster's little series, then all you need to know is that Joey ate a lot of tropical fruit in one sitting.

I hope you all have a very _spook_tacular Halloween!


	3. Friend or Foe?

Hello, dear readers! After a long wait, here's the next installment! I hope I didn't leave you all in the dark for too long!

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. By now, you should know who does and it's not me. I do own all of the original characters mentioned previously in the last disclaimer and who may appear in this one. I also don't own Game Boy or Mario.

* * *

Chapter 3

_Three weeks earlier_

"Don't you get tired of standing there?" asked Mokuba.

"It's my job and what I've been trained to do," said Roland.

"I can't see why Seto didn't want me in there," Mokuba pouted, "I'm just as important to Kaiba Corp as he is!" He pulled out his Game Boy and turned it on.

"I believe _that's _why," Roland said. "You get too sidetracked." He was standing outside one of the briefing rooms.

Croquet frowned, "They're awfully quiet in there. I can't see why Mr. Pegasus wanted to hold this meeting when he was so tired. He should wait until the conferences in three weeks."

"I can't wait to learn how to ski," Mokuba grinned, and then suddenly grimaced, "Jump, Mario! JUMP!"

The door to the room opened and a very annoyed Seto came out. "Pegasus is trying to organize another tournament," he said, rolling his eyes, "We're going to be here a while…unfortunately. Roland go with Mokuba and get something to eat."

"When will you get done, big brother?" asked Mokuba as he finally looked up from his game.

Seto glanced back toward the room where Pegasus was scanning over several forms and sighed, "With luck, before the year's over." He disappeared back into the room.

"Where do you want to go?" asked Roland, "I'll go bring you back something."

"I dunno," said Mokuba, turning to Croquet, "Any good places around San Francisco?"

"Average fast food," said Croquet, "And some other quick sit-down restaurants. Closest one's Burger World about two blocks south of here."

"Burger World!" Mokuba exclaimed, "Yes! You can get me the usual, Roland."

As Roland was about to head down the hall, a frustrated businessman came barreling down the hallway, skidding to a stop at the briefing room. An equally frustrated receptionist came running after.

"Sir, please! Mr. Pegasus is in a meeting and can't be disturbed!" she cried.

"Out of my way," said the man, trying to push back Croquet, who was blocking the entrance, "I have an important meeting scheduled for this time with Mr. Pegasus!"

"Pegasus is busy," said Mokuba, "My big brother is in there with him!"

The man sneered at the younger boy, "What person brings their nine-year old brother to business deals?"

"I'm not nine; I'm the Vice President of Kaiba Corp and my brother's in there with Pegasus!"

The man glared angrily toward the door and tried harder to get past Croquet, knocking the bodyguard's glasses askew, "I see how it is. Pegasus can schedule meetings with big shots like Kaiba, but he can't keep appointments with the average Joe! Well I won't stand for it!"  
Roland was able to finally pry the man off Croquet, who reached for his pager, "Sir, if you don't calm yourself, I will have security escort you from the premises."

"NO!" the man cried, "I have a meeting with Pegasus and I'm going to keep it!" Using his briefcase as a shield, he knocked the two bodyguards out of the way and burst his way into the room.

Both Pegasus and Seto looked up from the new interruption. While Pegasus was utterly shocked and confused by the strange man's arrival, Seto merely raised an eyebrow, silently thankful that Pegasus had stopped droning on and on.

The receptionist appeared in the doorway right after the man fought his way inside, "I'm sorry, Mr. Pegasus, he slipped past us."

"That's quite all right, Tracy," said Pegasus, "I'll take care of this. You can go."

Both Roland and Croquet appeared next to the man, "I'll get rid of him, Mr. Pegasus," said Croquet.

"No, no, Croquet. This young man has definitely caused enough of a ruckus to let his voice be heard. If we need you we'll just call."

Croquet looked at Roland, shrugged and they both left, closing the door behind him.

_Present time_

And there he was, right in front of him. Mokuba – with his Game Boy once again – watched as the man who disrupted Seto's meeting with Pegasus walk through the man lounge and up the stairs toward the suites.

"Roland," he hissed, "Look – it's the guy from Industrial Illusions!"

Roland looked toward the stairs, "So it is. He's probably here for those conferences like every other executive here."

"I wonder if Pegasus knows," said Mokuba, "I don't know what happened in that meeting room three weeks ago, but what if that guy is the cause of those accidents?"

"Being aggravated one day doesn't turn one into an almost-murderer," said Roland. He glanced at his watch, "Your beginner ski lessons start soon – you should put that away and head off to the lifts."

"Oh, I almost forgot about those. I can't wait to learn how to ski!"

* * *

"Once we get out of this tunnel we should probably look up this history of this place," said Tea, "I'm sure there's so much to learn about the chateau."

"I agree," said Ryou, "Some parts could have been hundreds of years old!"

"We can research the chateau later guys," said Yugi, "This is odd – I'm sure no one's been through here in a while considering the dust we're kicking up off of the floor."

"Yea, but look," Tristan pointed to the ancient floorboards, "There are footprints in the dust! Someone _has_ been through here!"

"Then we'll have to see where this ends up," said Yugi.

"I hope it stops soon," Joey moaned, "I'm starvin'!"

"Joey!" Tea hissed, "You just ate, and you can't possibly want _more_ food!"

"But…," Joey began, and his stomach gave a loud rumble, "I gotta eat something!"

"You're impossible," Ryou sighed.

"I think I see the end," said Tristan running ahead. He rounded a curve and then stopped. "The path splits from here!" The dust-covered passage continued straight – along with the footprints – and another path that went off to the left, with a sharp turn so the others couldn't see where it ended.

"Well, we'll divide and conquer!" said Joey, "Me, Tristan and Tea will go this way." He pointed toward the side passage.

"I guess that leaves you and me," said Yugi to Ryou. "Okay, we'll split up. How about if we meet up in lounge by the dining room when we're done?"

"Sounds ok to me," said Tristan, "And afterwards, if Joey hasn't killed us for food, we can grab something." And grabbing Joey by the back of his shirt dragged him down the dimly lit passage, Tea following close behind.

"Well let's go, Yugi," said Ryou, "The sooner we figure out where these footprints lead the sooner we can report back to Pegasus."

"Good point," said Yugi.

They followed the dusty hallway until the very end, rounding corner after corner until arriving at a dead end. The walls stopped but under the back wall a very dim, but noticeable light crept out through the cracks.

"This must open somehow," said Yugi. "There's a light through the cracks. Whoever came in through here must have had a way to get out."

"Unless Tristan, Joey and Tea found it and this is just a dead end," suggested Ryou.

/No. There is definitely a door here/ Bakura said. Throwing Ryou into the Ring, he felt around the wall and floor, patting every inch he could reach. After a few minutes in the dark tunnel, part of the wall swung open, revealing a narrow opening. Bakura retreated once again into the Millennium Ring.

"Where you do think this goes?" said Yugi. He was hesitant to go through the doorway. For all he knew, the real cause of the accidents could be on the other side.

"I'm not sure," said Ryou, "But the only way to find out is to go through into the darkness and hope nothing happens."

"Then let's do it," said Yugi, and he stepped through the opening. The passage ended up in a stairwell in the back of the chateau. "This isn't good – if whoever attacked Hartlin came through here, there's no way to tell who it was. He could have easily blended in with the rush going the other way or could have gone up these steps!"

"This mystery is getting a lot harder now," Ryou sighed, and looked down, "Hey – what's this?" He picked up a torn piece of cloth stuck in the hinge of the passage door. "This might have torn off the perpetrator!"

"Good job, Ryou," Yugi smiled, "I'm sure we'll be able to figure something out with this. Let's go meet up with the others and see what they found."

They arrived in the lounge but the others weren't back yet.

"Something smells good at the buffet," Ryou smiled, "I hope they get here soon, those smells are making me hungry."

"I know. I'm just curious to know who's clothing this belongs too," said Yugi pocketing the piece of fabric, "It won't be all that easy to figure it out."

"Ah, there you are," said Pegasus, coming towards them, "Did you find anything yet?"

"A piece of clothing," said Yugi. He showed it to him.

"Hmm, I can't make heads or tails off of it. But I am looking for Kaiba and I thought he was here in the lounges."

"Oh, well he might be in one of the other ones," said Yugi, "We all saw him on the other side of the building not too long ago."

"Thank you, Yugi-boy!"

Ryou turned to Yugi after Pegasus ran off, "Why didn't you tell him that Kaiba was in the conference room?"

"Well… I was going to, but I know we probably frustrated him when we were sleuthing around, and I know if Pegasus finds him, he won't get any work done. We all know how much he hates Pegasus."

"Yea…"

"Also, Kaiba was in the room when the whole mess happened! If we all – hopefully including Joey – stay on his good side, maybe he can help us find who's responsible."

/Good luck with _that_, Yugi. You know he won't help us./

**/He still might – you never know, Yami!/**

* * *

"Man, we better get to the end soon. I'm starving!" Joey whined.

"The sooner we get through this, the faster we can eat," Tea sighed, "Stop thinking about being hungry for once."

"That's the problem," said Tristan, "Joey's _always _hungry."

"Hey, look up there," Tea pointed down the corridor. There was a light coming from around the corner. "Maybe that's the exit!"

"It'd better be!" Joey burst forward and nearly ran smack into a wall.

"Watch it, Joey, you almost became wall pizza."

"Oh, Tristan – did you have to say pizza?" he moaned. "This wall's gotta open somehow…"

"There's probably a secret switch or something," said Tea, patting the wall, "That light's creeping from under this, so this has to have a trigger."

"It's cold over here," said Tristan, "We might be outside the hotel."

"Outside?" Joey moaned, "What if we're stuck in a blizzard?"

"Worry about that when the time comes," Tea muttered.

Joey frowned and leaned against the wall, resting his foot on a stone in the path. With a low rumble, the stone sunk into the ground. Almost immediately afterward, the wall slid away, toppling Joey to the ground ("Yowch!"). Tea walked right past him and through the opening.

"I don't believe it," she gasped, "That tunnel lead us outside!"

"Yea," said Tristan, as he came through, "Looks like we're where they store the ski equipment in the back of the rental place." Joey's stomach gave another involuntary rumble, "Let's get back before Joey eats himself."

"I wonder if Yugi and Bakura found anything," said Joey, "…eh…which way is back to the chateau?"

* * *

"There you are, Kaiba-boy," said Pegasus casually, striding into Conference Room 3. Much to the younger CEO's displeasure, Pegasus sat down next to him, "I heard that you were in the lounges. Any reason you're hiding in what the other executives call 'the cursed room'?"

Seto didn't take his eyes off his laptop, "It _was _quiet…."

"Oh come now, Kaiba-boy! If you had any more peace and quiet than you already do holed up your office all day you'd –"

"What do you want, Pegasus? I'm rather busy."

"Do you remember what happened three weeks ago, Kaiba?"

The pitter-patter of Seto's fingers against the keys didn't falter for an instant. "What about it?"

The apathy in Seto's voice startled Pegasus, "What do you mean 'what about it'? That man is a psycho and he's here running around loose!"

"He's here for the same reason we are, I don't see what your problem is."

"Don't be ridiculous, Kaiba. You know just as well as I that that man is dangerous! You remember what happened and what he threatened to do!"

_**Flashback**_

The ruckus on the other side of the meeting room door caused both executives to glance in that direction. Pegasus's train of thought on the plans he was spilling out flew right out the window.

"What on earth…" Pegasus muttered.

Seto raised an eyebrow at Pegasus, but kept his eyes scanning over one of the many documents in front of him, "Don't you have security to take care of annoyances?"

"Well Croquet is outside, what is he doing out there?"

"Sounds like someone's having issues trying to get to you. Don't you make people schedule appointments, or do you always call them at random when they just happen to be unfortunately out of a meeting," Seto muttered.

Suddenly, the door to the briefing room burst open and a livid businessman stumbled in, his briefcase held out in front of him as a shield. Both Seto's and Pegasus's bodyguards appeared behind him; ready to throw the man out.

Both Pegasus and Seto looked up from the new interruption. While Pegasus was utterly shocked and confused by the strange man's arrival, Seto merely raised an eyebrow, silently thankful that Pegasus had stopped droning on and on.

The receptionist appeared in the doorway right after the man fought his way inside, "I'm sorry, Mr. Pegasus, he slipped past us."

"That's quite all right, Tracy," said Pegasus, "I'll take care of this. You can go."

"I'll get rid of him, Mr. Pegasus," said Croquet.

"No, no, Croquet. This young man has definitely caused enough of a ruckus to let his voice be heard. If we need you we'll just call."

Croquet looked at Roland, shrugged and they both left, closing the door behind him.

"Now, mister…" Pegasus trailed off, "I'm sorry, what is your name?"

"Pete Marshand."

"Ah, Peter Marshand, welcome. I'm afraid I was in the middle of something when you so peacefully entered."

"I know, Mr. Pegasus," said Marshand, "I recall making an appointment with you today at twelve-thirty. It's one now."

"Yes, well," Pegasus frowned, glancing at Seto before turning back to the man, "Something has come up, you see. What exactly was it you wanted to see me about?"

"Something to go along with Duel Monsters," said Marshand, "My company makes animated action figures from various popular shows, movies, and games. We are hoping to do a Duel Monsters line of popular creatures."

"Sounds good so far, Mr. Marshand," said Pegasus, "But at the moment I am in the middle of something important with Mr. Kaiba. If you could schedule a new appointment with my receptionist, I would be delighted to go over a possible deal with you."

"But I'm here now," Marshand frowned, "This _was _my scheduled appointment time."

"And something has come up. My receptionist should have called you yesterday to reschedule a later date."

"I never received such a call," said Marshand stiffly.

"Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Marshand," said Pegasus, "But I'm afraid you will have to schedule a new appointment."

Seto narrowed his eyes. Something didn't click.

"I'm a very busy man, Pegasus. I don't have the time to keep rescheduling these appointments because you find yourself too busy with corporate giants such as Kaiba Corp to have time for the smaller man."

Pegasus opened his mouth to retort, but Seto beat him to it, "If you're _so _busy, Marshand, then why are you here wasting both your time and our time getting nowhere instead of making a five minute phone call?"

Marshand turned to Seto, "Excuse me?"

"If your appointment with Pegasus was at twelve-thirty," said Seto, "then why come barging in here a half hour later? Either you knew your slot was cancelled and you purposely came down here to cause a stir, or you didn't get a call to reschedule and have a bad sense of time and in your absence, Pegasus would probably be meeting with someone else anyway."

Marshand's face turned beet red. He opened his mouth to say something, glared from Seto to Pegasus, snapped his mouth shut, gathered his things and stormed out the door. "This isn't over Pegasus!" he called as the door slammed shut.

_**End Flashback**_

Seto rolled his eyes, "Please, Pegasus. He might be angered to the nth degree by what happened, but that barely justifies attacking your employees. There's no way a scrawny little man like him would be able to come up with this."

"There are some pretty sick people out there, Kaiba-boy."

"Don't forget to include yourself in with those."

"Very funny, Kaiba. I can almost guarantee that Marshand is behind this, and if he is, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop him from acting again!"

Seto continued his typing, "You mean having Sherlock Muto, Dr. Wheeler and his band of cheerleaders do the work for you while you lounge around and enjoy yourself."

"Don't be ridiculous, Kaiba-boy! Yugi and his friends _volunteered_! I didn't enlist them!"

"Whatever."

"And if Marshand _is _behind this, he will be sorry."

"He's not the guy you're looking for," said Seto, scrolling through his email, "Marshand was next to me when Hartlin was stabbed."

"How do you know he didn't do it in the dark?"

"When the lights went out, he fell out of his chair and rammed into me. He didn't get up until the lights went back on, well after Hartlin was stabbed. Now if you excuse me…" Seto grabbed his now-empty coffee mug and strolled out the door.

Pegasus sat at the table, baffled. _If Marshand didn't attack Hartlin, then who did?_


	4. An Evil Encounter

Hello, dear readers! After a much longer wait than the last one, here's the latest installment! I'm _**so**_ sorry for making you all wait this long! I've been playing Lolo and Lolo3 very often. For those who have no clue, Lolo is an awesome puzzle/strategic game for the original Nintendo system (aka NES). I was able to find the full versions of the game, as well as the original Super Mario Bros and I've been addicted to those for a while now. Classic games rock! On another front, it turns out I'm moving again (sigh) so with cleaning up to prepare for prospective buyers trampling through the house, trying to enjoy my summer break and then having to go back to college at the end of the summer, fanfic procrastination's been happening a bit too long!! I'm back now and I plan to update like no tomorrow! – Hopefully…

I'm finishing this at 1 am. I'm certain at least one thing in here doesn't make much sense, so if you get confused, feel free to leave it in a review or PM me. I'll respond either way. Enjoy.

/Blah/ is spirit to host.

**/Blah/** is host to spirit

I don't own YGO. By now, you should know who does and it's not me. I do own all of the original characters mentioned previously in the last disclaimer and who may appear in this one.

* * *

Chapter 4

"Wouldn't it be much easier to have these lessons when it _wasn't _snowing?" Seto asked, throwing on a long black overcoat (one that didn't, miraculously enough, billow out dramatically behind him like his Battle City trench) and following his brother to the beginner's slopes. The snow was lightly falling from the grey sky and the remaining fluff from the previous blizzard had already been shoveled off of the walks around the château.

"It's barely snowing, Seto! Besides, I already had my lesson an hour ago. That's the next group over there. I'm gonna practice now on the slope that's farther away. My instructor said that's the practice one."

"He's letting you practice without supervision?" asked Seto, shaking a clump of snow off of his shoes, "A bit risky isn't it?"

"No. There's always someone watching the beginner's slopes just to be safe. Usually they're off to the side of the slopes near the trees. See, down there, there's one!" Mokuba pointed to a figure about halfway down. The slope lifeguard waved back. "There's nothing to worry about. Ready to watch me fly?"

"Go ahead." Seto pulled out his phone and aimed it halfway down the slope.

"Seto, you're never going to snap a picture at the speed I'm moving down the hill. You're just going to get snow!"

Seto looked down at Mokuba, a small smirk playing across his face, "Would you like to bet on that?"

Mokuba looked up at his big brother's smirk and frowned, "I don't like that look."

"You shouldn't."

"If I'm right…" Mokuba began, "You have to go all tomorrow _without_ one drop of coffee."

"Alright, Mokuba. But if _I'm_ right, you have to go all tomorrow _without _sweets."

"Not _one _pastry!?"

"Not even a crumb."

Mokuba frowned, "That's cruel."

"You started it. The odds are that you're going to be right anyways, so why worry?"

Mokuba glanced down at the slope. "You got a deal!" He turned to prepare for his descent. Glancing down at the slope and then back at his brother, he smiled, "Ready?"

"Whenever you are, go ahead."

Mokuba pushed off from the edge and glided smoothly down the slope, passing the lifeguard and coming to a stop at the bottom. _That wasn't so bad! _He turned to head back up the hill on the side path._ I hope Seto missed that shot…_.

On top of the hill, Seto closed his phone and turned to head toward the path leading back up the slopes when he froze, staring down something half-hidden in the snowy trees. Someone, face hidden, was frozen, probably staring back at him. Slowly, Seto turned away, towards the path Mokuba would be coming up through, but keeping the stranger within his sight. When his brother was halfway to the top, he took a quick peek around. There was no one else in the general area.

"Seto!!"

He grimaced as he became snow-covered once more, "Nice trip down the hill, kiddo." When Mokuba let go of him, Seto went back to shaking the snow off of his shoes and the bottom of his pants.

Mokuba looked down at the phone in his hand, "You missed the shot, didn't you? You missed it – please tell me you missed it!"

Seto opened the phone, pushed a few buttons and turned it around so the screen faced Mokuba. While his little brother was occupied, Seto made a quick scan of the trees. The man had fled.

Mokuba took one look, and kicked the nearest pile of snow.

* * *

"I wonder what's keeping Joey and the others," said Yugi.

"They still might be in the tunnels," said Ryou, "Or maybe they're following an important clue they found." He looked at the torn cloth in his hands, "I wonder what kind of fabric this is. For all we know, it could belong to anyone in the resort! Solving this mystery can take a while!"

"Well we know there have been three accidents so far here and each of them was to someone from Industrial Illusions," said Yugi, "That's one place we can start from. The first accident was on the ski slopes and the second was suspected poison. The third was in the conference room and was a stabbing."

"So," Ryou began, "If it means anything, it's whoever's responsible doesn't repeat his attacks or his victims."

Yugi nodded, "It's a possibility…." He paused as he noticed two familiar figures sitting across the room. "Maybe they can help!"

"Who?" Ryou asked, following Yugi.

One of the two turned as he saw Yugi and Ryou approach, "Yugi Muto. Didn't think we'd see you try and strike a conversation with us. Where's your gaggle of friends?"

"Off somewhere," said Yugi. "Croquet we need your help."

Pegasus's security guard raised an eyebrow and glanced at Roland, who was typing on a laptop. "_Our_ help? Please tell me Mr. Pegasus didn't find – and go nuts over – a bottle of wine?"

Yugi laughed nervously, "Not exactly, but we found this around the château near where Hartlin was stabbed. Do you recognize what kind of fabric this is?" He handed the torn cloth over to Croquet.

"I'm no fashion expert, Mr. Muto. I can tell you that it's expensive though – feels like the material of an expensive suit – maybe part of someone's jacket." He handed it to Roland, "What do you think?"

"Definitely a suit. It's the right kind of material at least. But if you want a fashion nut, go to New York or Paris," said the Kaiba Corp employee, "the edges around here look like it might've been torn off by something – or someone. Where did you find it?"

"Outside a secret passageway leading from Conference Room Three," said Ryou.

"Well this could've belonged to anyone. I think everyone taking part in these conferences has at least one black item of clothing. Unless you can nab prints off this, I don't think it'll be much use," said Roland, "Unless, of course, there's someone walking around with a torn suit."

"I doubt it," said Ryou, "But thanks anyways."

"Maybe we should talk to Hartlin when he gets back in the morning," said Yugi, "He might've gotten a glimpse of his attacker."

"But the room was dark!" Ryou exclaimed, "I don't see how he would be able to know!"

"Well we won't know unless we ask him," said Yugi, heading out of the room, "I guess the only thing we can do now is find the others."

* * *

The snow was continuing to fall, this time at a more rapid pace. Most of the skiers had retreated back into the château.

"Can't we stay out a little longer, Seto?"

"Last thing I need is for you to get sick for being out here too long," said Seto. "You can ski again when the snow stops."

Mokuba frowned, "Fine…."

As they walked back into the château, the man hiding behind the trees showed himself, and he wasn't alone. He moved closer to his companions, who were deep in conversation.

"We can't use the entrance like before," said one man, "There's always someone in the room now."

"Who?" asked another man, lighting a cigar. He replaced the lighter into the pocket of his suit. The edge of the jacket had been torn off.

"One of the businessmen, I couldn't tell from far away. Since the day we used that room one of them had been working in there. I think he's suspicious of us."

"I would too if I caught you following me like you are him."

"There are only three exits to that tunnel," said another voice, this time a woman, "One is in the ski shack, another hidden in a back staircase and then the meeting room."

"We can always make a new exit," said the first man "shouldn't be too hard. The guests will just think the place is haunted and leave. It'll help us."

"I wouldn't," said the second man with the cigar, "The château might be too old to be messing with the tunnel. You might cause too much damage and collapse the whole place, and then it won't do us any good at all! See if you can get this guy to vacate the conference room. If not, force him to."

"Should we plan a fourth attack?" asked the woman.

"Yes. Get them scared. I don't care who or how, just pick someone. The first guy you come across if you have to. If you play your cards right, you might be able to pin our fun on this Marshand fellow. Pegasus seems to think he's attacking everyone."

"That man?" laughed the woman, "He couldn't hurt anyone if he wanted to!"

"It'll get the accusation off us, and that's all that matters," said the first man. He turned and disappeared through the trees toward the ski equipment shack. The others glanced back at each other and then followed.

* * *

"Man, you'd think someone with hair like Yugi's would be easy to find," said Joey, "Can't spot him anywhere, and I'm starvin'!"

"Can't you think about anything other than your stomach for once?" Tea hissed, "For all we know, Yugi and Ryou might've found an important clue!"

"Well they should hurry up," Joey pouted, flopping into an oversized chair by a roaring fire, "I don't like waiting."

"You won't have to wait too long, here they come," said Tristan.

"There you are," Ryou said, "Find anything?"

"We know that portion of the passage leads to the ski equipment shack," said Tea, "but that's all. How did you manage?"

"The path we followed led to a stairwell in the back of the château. We did find a torn piece of clothing. Ryou and I found Roland and Croquet and asked them about it. They think it might be from someone's suit," said Yugi, "But now we at least know how these assailants are organizing their attacks. The person who attacked the woman on the slopes probably hid back in the passage via the ski equipment shop, and whoever stabbed Hartlin disappeared through the passage in Conference Room Three."

"What about the guy who was poisoned?" asked Joey.

"We don't know that he was or wasn't. Pegasus said he thinks he was."

"Maybe we should go back into the passage and look for any other exits," Tea said, "Maybe we might be able to prevent another attack if we know where the entrances to the passages are."

"Good idea, Tea!" Joey grinned, and then his stomach did another grumble, "But after we eat, okay?"

Yugi sighed, "Always thinking with your stomach, huh Joey?"

"No, I'm just hungry!"

"You guys go and eat," said Yugi, "I'm not really hungry right now. I think I'm going to go check out that passage."

"You sure, Yugi?" asked Tea.

"I'll be fine," said Yugi reassuringly, "you all go ahead. I'll see you later." He turned and headed towards the back of the château. **/I hope I can find the entrance to the passage without Ryou's spirit. What do you think?/**

/We might be standing there a while, but I have full confidence in you, Yugi. We'll find it. Don't worry./

**/Do you think there'll be another attack, Pharaoh?/**

/It's hard to say Yugi/ Yami said appearing in spirit form beside him, /If we found out why the attacks are taking place and who is doing them, we might be able to put a stop to them. However, right now, we don't have enough information to answer either of those questions./

Yugi stopped before the wall where he knew the hidden door to be. _Now, how to open it? _

"Look for hidden switches," said Yami beside him, invisible to everyone but Yugi, "something that might activate the door."

Yugi nodded, patting the wall down. After a few minutes, he sighed, backing away from the wall. "It's no use, this won't open."

However, when his foot hit one of the floor tiles, the hidden door swung open! Yami chuckled, "Then again…."

Yugi walked into the passage and closed the door behind him, "It's a lot darker in here today. The lamps that were on last time are mostly off now. I don't know how I'm supposed to look for more hidden areas with this little light!"

"Do the best you can, Yugi," said Yami. "If you need to, you can always come back later with a flashlight."

"That's true," said Yugi, feeling the walls, "I think this is where we split up before. The path goes straight ahead and to the right."

"Well," said Yami, "The right leads to the ski shack. Straight ahead goes to the conference room. Which way do you want to go?"

"Straight I suppose," said Yugi, continuing on. He very slowly made his way through the corridor, feeling the walls for turns and adjoining halls….

Meanwhile, Seto showed his ID to the guard by the door separating the conference areas from the rest of the château and turned at the end of the hall. Entering Conference Room Three, he tossed his long (and now damp) overcoat onto the back of a chair and opened his laptop that he retrieved from Roland. He shook his head, thinking of the snowballs Mokuba managed to pelt him (or rather his coat, as they all missed his head) with before they got back inside. After signing in, he grabbed his mug and left for the dining room to grab a cup of coffee.

He returned a few minutes later, steaming mug in hand and paused at the wall where Yami Bakura opened the secret entrance. He looked the wall up and down; it looked pretty ordinary to him. Not that he cared about the hallway behind the wall, not when there was work to complete. Shaking his head, he returned to his laptop, opened a file, and resumed his inhumanly quick typing….

…Yugi paused. There was another passage, veering off to the left! "Strange," he muttered, "I don't remember this ever being here."

"If you're going to go down, be careful," said Yami, "We don't know what's down here."

"Right," said Yugi. He took a step forward, but immediately stumbled and fell. The fall echoed throughout the passage.

"Yugi!"

"It's alright, Yami. I couldn't see; this passage is higher than the others. Don't worry about me; I'm fine." Getting up, Yugi continued, this time, going slower than before….

….Seto glanced up and looked toward the wall. Did he just hear a thud of some sort?

_Don't be ridiculous, you're just imagining things. _He shook his head and tried to concentrate on his work once more, but then he got the feeling he was being watched. He glanced up towards the door. On the other side of the hall, was a figure, looking back at him. It looked like the same one that was staring at him from the ski slopes and was probably the same man who was watching him work once before.

He quickly rose and went to the door. The man had darted down the hallway once Seto had stood. Seto opened the door and walked out. He looked in both directions; there was no one in sight, so he rounded the nearest corner. Still no one. Slowly, Seto walked back into the conference room when he stopped dead in his tracks.

The secret passage was open….

….Yugi rounded another corner when he froze. He could hear footsteps; someone was in the passage with him, but where?

/Get out of here, Yugi!/ Yami cried through their mind link.

**/Don't have to tell me twice!/ **He turned down the nearest intersection he found, trying to remember his way back to the stairwell entrance. The footsteps were getting louder. Yugi quickly turned around a bend when he bumped into someone. A flashlight was shined into his face and Yugi put his hand up to shield his eyes. When it was lowered away from his face, Yugi looked at who he had hit. It was a man, though a mask was hiding his face.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the man demanded. He had a strong French accent.

"I-I got lost," Yugi stammered, "I was trying to find my way out when I hit you. I'm sorry."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" asked the man. In the darkness, Yugi could make out a glint of something metallic in the man's hand.

"It's true – I'm lost," said Yugi.

"Found something?" asked another man, coming up behind Yugi, "What's he doing here?"

"Says he's lost," said the first man with the flashlight.

"No he's not," said the second man, "Saw him and his friends earlier snooping around in the conference room when they found the entrance. They're looking for it."

"I'm not looking for anything!" Yugi cried, "I'm lost – that's all!"

"Don't lie to us, shrimp," said the second man, and Yugi felt something small pushed against his back, "You're looking for them. You want to get them before we do."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Yugi said, extremely confused.

"Liar," said the first man, grabbing Yugi by his collar, hoisting him up and pushing him hard against the wall. "You're looking for the diamonds so you can turn them over to a museum."

**/Diamonds!?/**

"W-what diamonds?" Yugi gulped.

The second man studied Yugi through the flashlight light and then turned to his companion, "He doesn't know what you're talking about. Now you've done it!"

The first man swore under his breath, and then noticed the Puzzle. Taking one hand off Yugi's collar, he took the Puzzle in his hands, weighing it. "Quite a bit of gold you've got here."

"Get off my Puzzle!" said Yugi fiercely.

"A bit heavy for a little guy like you," the second man said, "I think we'll relieve you of it."

"No!" Yugi hugged it to his chest, "You can't – it's mine!"

The first man chuckled, "Not for long, kid. You know too much, so you can't live." He began to yank on the chain, choking Yugi when the second man grabbed his arm.

"Stop," he hissed, "Someone else is here with us. I hear footsteps."

The first man brought his masked face dangerously close to Yugi's, "You're lucky, little man. Speak of what happened here and you'll wish you never visited this place."

With that, the two men disappeared down the corridor, leaving Yugi clutching his throat, on the ground.

He too heard footsteps, and they were coming closer.

/I'm sorry I couldn't do anything, Yugi. I didn't want to make the situation worse by activating the Puzzle and taking over./

Yugi felt his breath escaping from him. **/It's ok, Yami. I'll…I'll…be al-alright…/** He slumped over against the wall and everything went black….


End file.
